A study of nasometric values for normal nasal resonance

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Acoustic Phonetics
• Linguistics

Background:

• Nasalance, a measure of nasal acoustic energy, is crucial for assessing velopharyngeal function.
• Variations in nasalance may exist across different English dialects and demographic groups.
• Understanding normal nasalance ranges is essential for diagnosing speech disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify nasalance values in a large cohort of normal adult English speakers.
• To investigate potential regional and gender-based differences in nasalance.
• To explore the implications of these findings for velopharyngeal function assessment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Nasometer to measure acoustic energy in the speech of 148 normal adults.
• Collected data from speakers across four geographical regions in North America.
• Analyzed nasalance and deviation scores for three distinct reading passages.

Main Results:

• Mid-Atlantic speakers demonstrated significantly higher nasalance scores across all tested passages.
• Female subjects exhibited significantly higher nasalance scores specifically on Nasal Sentences.
• Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in nasalance based on region and gender.

Conclusions:

• Regional dialect (Mid-Atlantic) and gender are significant factors influencing nasalance in normal adult speakers.
• These findings highlight the importance of considering demographic variations when interpreting nasalance data.
• The study provides normative data that can refine the understanding and diagnosis of velopharyngeal dysfunction.